A couple of weeks ago I attended Doug Shield’s meeting with the people he represents, ALCOSAN staff members, a PGH public works staff member and one person from the PGH Water and Sewage Authority/Cmte. Plus the expertise of the ED of the 9 Mile Run Association.

From the testimony of average citizens who have written, spoken, called and otherwise communicated through appropriate channels to ALCOSAN, nothing other than new laws are going to generate anything close to a responsible response – and in a reasonable, you can count on it, timeframe.

In 1993. 60,000 – 80,000 was spent on a study of the pipes in back of the main Squirrel Hill stores on Forbes(the owner of Littles testified). The pipes are the original terra cotta and every time it rains, basements of these stores are flooded. No action has been taken on this study – that Shields verified as he was working for Bob O’Conner at the time.

A woman from four mile run showed pictures of water pressure pushing off man-hole covers, spurting 25 feet up in the air – leaving human waste all over her lawn and house.

ED from 9mile run association said we have more extreme water events to look forward to as the globe heats up and cities on the east coast of the country are having experiences similar to ours.

In response to citizen testimony, ALCOSAN staff repeatedly said they had to wait for their current study to be completed to address any of these issues. They appeared to be the human embodiment of sticks in the mud.

The man in the picture is a fireman who has lived in the same house for 30 years. Unlike when he was 5 years old, he has predictable and quite damaging flooding.

An eye opening meeting last night at the Jewish Community Center. Facilitated by our Councilman, Doug Shields, Squirrel Hill area residents aired their grievances to Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, Nine Mile Run Association, ALCOSAN, and City of Pittsburgh Public Works. The big picture is: due to the consistent rise in temperature, northeast cities have seen an upswing in dramatic rainwater events – for which our city’s infrastructure is ill-equipped. Residents testified to cleaning up human poop from combined sewage run-off in their yards and in their homes.